Motor governor



July 31, 1951 LYQNS 2,562,322

MOTOR GOVERNOR Filed March 22, 1949 IN VENT OR.

ATTORNEYS Patented July 31, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MOTORGOVERNOR Harry Lyons, Fayetteville, Ark.

Application March 22, 1949, Serial No. 82,788

This invention a relates to vehicles, and .amore particularly to agoverno'r for controlling the speed of avehicle.

The object 'of the invention is to :provide a governor for a vehicle 1engine which "will prevent *the vehicle from exceeding a predeterminedspeed Another obj ect of a the 1 invention is toJprovide-'a=centrifuga1governor fora vehicle andwhich is adapted to prevent theflow offueltothevehicle enginewhen the speed of thevehicle: exceeds apredetermined limit.

A further object of the inventionis toprovide a speed control mechanismwhich is extremely simple .and inexpensive i to manufacture.

Other objects and'advantageswill be apparent :during the course of thefollowing description.

Inv the accompanying drawings, forming apart of thisapplication, andin-which like numerals are'used to designate like], parts throughoutthesame:

Figure 1 is'a side elevational view of an internal combustionrengineequipped with the speed control mechanism, according to the; presentinvention;

iFigure 2 is an enlarged sectional view-taken on v the line 2--2 ofFigure 1;

Figure 3 isianenlarged sectional view taken on a the line 3:3 of :Figure4;

Figure i -is an enlarged I sectional view taken onthe line 44 of Figure3.

-Referring in detail -to the 'drawings, the 1 numer'al l0 designates-aconventional internal com- I bustion engine of avehicle and the. enginedrives -the propellor shaft 1! which is arranged in a housing I2. Theengine [-0 includes a carburetor -l3 and a conduit l4 'for conveying'f-uel' thereswitch for actuatingasolenoid [6 which issupported inacasi-ng 11, the casing' I! being secured to a bracket l8 whichlprojectsfrom the carburetor i3. An arm 19 projectsthroughan opening 20 in thecasing I1, and the arm I9 has one of its ends pivotally connected to theinterior of the casing H as at 2|. The other end of the arm I 9 isconnected to a link 22 by means of a coupling "three superimposed spacedrecesses -5i, there beqgear casing 32.

gear 43 that is carried by a short shaft 44. shaft- 44'projects throughthe bottom member 45 :3 Claims. (01. ZOO--) 23, the link'22 beingpivotally connected to a post L24Jby a pin 25. 'connecteditovthe link 22and its other end connected to a crank 21, the crank 2'5 being connected'to' thelthrottle valve t5, wherebyupon energization or. actuation ofthe solenoid IS, the armature A lever 25 has one ofits ends I!) will bepivoted downwardly to thereby block the flow of; fuel through theconduit M.

For retarding too quick an action of closing movement of the throttlevalve iii, a dash pot 28 is secured to the side of the conduit [4, therebeing-a bleed opening 29 in the dash pot. The piston 30 in the dash pot28 is connected to the free "end of the link 22. 15

,gress or egress of air through the opening 29 to re- Thus, when thelink 22 is actuated, the. piston-3G is moved to cause anintard too quickan opening movement of the throttle valve [5 and thus promote smoothnessof operation of the-internal combustion engine.

exteriorlgear teeth-3 l, Figure 3, and the propeller shaft projects intoa gear casing 32.

The propeller shaft ll carries a plurality of A threaded coupling 33connects a hollow housing 34 to the A shaft 35 has mounted thereon agear38 which meshes with the'gear teeth 3| I of thetpropeller shaft I lwhereby rotation of the propeller shaft 1 I causes rotation of the shaft35.

Rotatably supported in the housing 35 is a shaft :31, the shaft3l havingone of its ends connected toan end of the shaft 35. A flexible cable 38is encased in a tubular member 39, and the cable 38 extends to thevehicle speedometer 40. The shaft 38 extends rotatably through a fittingll and is connected to the end of the shaft 31.

The shaft 37 carries a beveled gear 42 which is arranged vin meshingengagement with a bevel The of a switch housing 46. The switch housing46 includes I an annular side member 41 which is :secured to the bottommember 45 by suitable securing elements, such as screws 48. A top plate49 is supported on the side member 4'! and secured Qther e t o byscrews48. The housing 46 is fabricated of a materialnon-conductive ofelectricity :suchas Bakelite, and rotatably arranged in theswitchhousing 46 is a rotor 50 which is connected touthe shaft 44.

The rotor-50 is fabricated of a material nonconductive 'of electricityand is provided with ing a metal-sleeve 52 snugly seated in each of therecesses 5|. A suitable conductor plug 53 electrically connects theadjacent sleeves 52 together. Slidably positioned in each of the sleeves52 is a carbon brush 54. The end of the sleeve 52 is crimped as at 55,and a coil spring 56 is circumposed on the carbon brush 54 and has oneof its ends abutting the crimped portion 55 of sleeve 52. The other endof the spring 56 is arranged in engagement with a shoulder 51 which isformed integral with the carbon brush 54, so that the spring 56 normallyurges the carbon brush 54 inwardly into the sleeve 52. Slidably arrangedin each of the sleeves 52 is a governor or centrifugal weight 58 whichis adapted to force the carbon brush 54 against the tension of thespring 56 as the rotor 50 is rotated. The relative position of thecentrifugal Weight 58 in the sleeve 52 can be adjusted by means of a setscrew 59 which is threaded into the other end of the sleeve 52, Figure3.

Arranged in spaced superimposed relation within the housing 46 andsupported by the side member 41 is a plurality of metal contact rings 60which are adapted to be engaged by the carbon brushes 54 when the speedof the rotor 50 exceeds a predetermined limit. A suitable rivet 6|extends iroin each of the rings 60 through the insulated housing 46,there being a binding post T or terminal 52 arranged on the outer end ofeach of the metal rivets ill.

The intermediate binding post 62 is electrically connected by a cable 63to the vehicle battery 54, there being a suitable switch 65 arranged inthe line 83. Ihe battery 54 is suitably grounded, as at 65, Figure 1.The lowermost binding post 62 is electrically connected to the solenoidl6 by a cable or conductor wire 56, while the other or uppermost bindingpost 52 may be connected by a cable 61 to alight, bell, or horn, orother similar device.

In operation, the propeller shaft i I is normally rotated by the enginel0, and this rotation of the propeller shaft ll causes the speedometer40 to be actuated and it also causes the rotor 50 to be rotated. Duringnormal operation of the engine, the solenoid IE will not be energized sothat flow of fuel through the conduit (4 will be permitted whereby theengine can be operated as desired. In the event that the vehicle speedexceeds a predetermined limit, the rotor 50 will be turned at such aspeed so as to cause the centrifugal weights 58 to move the carbonbrushes 54 out into contact with the metal rings 60 whereby theelectrical circuit will be completed to the solenoid l5 so that thearmature 19 will be attracted thereto to thereby close the throttlevalve 15 and prevent the further flow of fuel to the engine. When thevehicle speed again drops below this speed, the .15

carbon brushes 54 will return to their normal position by virtue of thecoil springs 55 acting thereon to thereby deenergize the solenoid [6 sothat the throttle valve l5 can be controlled by the hand or by the footpedal as in the usual manner.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that a speed control mechanism hasbeen provided which is controlled by the speed of the vehicle. Theswitch housing is constructed so that dirt, moisture, and othercontaminants cannot clog the moving parts thereof and the device doesnot eiiect performance of the engine during normal driving. The carbonbrushes 54 are normally not in contact with the rings Bil so that therewill be a minimum of wear between the parts. desired, the device may beconstructed so that a single shaft extends through the rotor 50 and all)4 has one of its ends in engagement with the shaft 44 and its other endin engagement with the speedometer cable 38 whereby the rotor andspeedometer will be actuated by a single shaft.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention,this is by way of illustration only and I consider as my own all suchmodifications in construction as fairly fall within the scope of theappended claims.

I claim: i

1. In a governor switch for a vehicle, a housing fabricated ofinsulating material, a rotor positioned in said housing and driven bythe speedometer driven gear, a plurality of fixed terminals arrangedexteriorly of said housing and supported by the latter, one of saidterminals being connected to a source of electrical energy, a, pluralityof metal contact rings arranged within said housing and supported by thelatter, each of said rings being electrically connected to acomplemental terminal, a plurality of spaced, openended sleeves carriedby said rotor, a carbon brush carried by each of said sleeves andmounted for movement into electrical contact with said rings when thespeed of said rotor exceeds a predetermined limit, and a governor orcentrifugal weight positioned in each of said sleeves for urging saidcarbon brushes into contact with said rings when the speed of said rotorexceeds a predetermined limit.

2. The structure of claim 1 and further including a coil spring in eachof said sleeves for normally urging said carbon brushes out ofengagement with said rings.

3. In a governor switch for a vehicle, a housing fabricated ofinsulating material and including a bottom, an annular side membersecured to said bottom, a top plate arranged in spaced parallel relationabove said bottom and secured to said side member, a rotor rotatablypositioned in said housing and operatively connected to said vehicleengine, there being a plurality of superimposed spaced recesses arrangedin said rotor, a metal sleeve seated in each of said recesses, aconductor plug connecting said sleeves to each other, a carbon brushslidably positioned in each sleeve, each of said sleeves having acrimped edge, a coil spring circumposed on each carbon brush and havingan end abutting the crimped end of said sleeve, a governor weightslidably arranged in each of said sleeves, an adjusting set screwarranged in engagement with each of said sleeves, a plurality of spacedparallel metal contact rings arranged in said housing and supported bysaid side member and adapted to be engaged by said carbon brushes whenthe speed of the rotor exceeds a. predetermined limit, and a terminalelectrically connected to each of said rings.

HARRY LYONS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,075,987 McMahon Oct. 14, 19372,208,904. Knight July 23, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date604,591 Germany Oct. 24, 1934

